Do's and don'ts of Group discussion

1. Group Discussion
Sanjay Lal
Head Corporate Outreach & Placements
Adamas University

2. GD- Design
 Objectives of Group Discussion
 Definition of Group Discussion
 Group Discussion
 Why group testing?
 Factors that matter in GD
 Do’s and Don’ts in Group Discussion
 Suggestions
 Administrative Details
 Topics of importance frequently discussed

5. Objective
 Students will participate actively in a group setting
 Students will share their knowledge with others
 Students will improve their communication skills
 Students will think as a team and find a solution to
a given problem
 Students will impress the employers to get a job

6. Definition of Group Discussion
Group Discussion is a modern method of
assessing students personality.
It is both a technique and an art and a
comprehensive tool to judge the worthiness
of the student and his appropriateness for
the job.

7. WHAT IS GROUP DISCUSSION?
 Nowadays Group Discussion is being extensively used
along with personal interviews for the final selection of
candidates.
 It plays a main role in selecting the best among the best.
Having scored high marks, students who get selected for a
higher/another course or employment are placed on a par -
on equal footing - based on their age, qualification and
experience.
 It becomes necessary to conduct further screening for
choosing a few among many. It is here, the Group
Discussion plays an important part.
 It helps in choosing the socially suitable candidate among
the academically superior achievers.

8. Features Of Group Discussion
 It is an exchange of ideas among the individuals of a
group on a specific topic.
 Group Discussion is an informal discussion in which
participants of the same educational standard discuss
a topic of current interest.
 It is also known as leaderless discussion. It means its
aim is to find out the natural leadership level of the
candidates.

9. Group Discussion
 It refers to the situation where a particular
number of people (three to eight) meet face
to face and through free oral interaction,
originate, share and discuss ideas to arrive
at a decision or solution to a problem.
 Group discussions are used for decision-
making and problem solving.
 They are also used widely as a personality
test for evaluating several candidates
simultaneously.

10. NATURE AND SCOPE
 The more your ideas and the more your knowledge of
the subject, the more interested, enthusiastic and
confident you would become and the more fluent and
forceful would be your speech and contribution to the
discussion.

11. Categories of Group Discussion
Organizational group discussions
Group discussions as a part of a
selection process.

12. The Nominal Group technique
 Restricts discussion or interpersonal communication
during the decision-making process
 Though group members are all physically present
as in a tradition committee meeting, they
operate independently

13. Structure
 The group sits in circle or U-shape
 They may either be given their choice of seat
or seat allotted.
 This panel observes and evaluates

14. Evaluation Components
During a GD employers evaluate potential for
leadership and ability to work in a team.
The four components generally evaluated in a
group discussion are:
 Knowledge
 Communication skills
 Group behaviour
 Leadership potential

15. Communication Skills
Candidate assessed in terms of:
 Active listening
 Clarity of thought and expression
 Apt language
 body language
 Lucidity

16.  Tone: Quality or character of the voice
expression a particular feeling or mood
 Voice: Power of speech
 Articulation: Act of speaking or expressing an
idea in words
 Fluency: Speaking or writing in an easy,
flowing style
 Modulation: Variations in rate, tone, or
volume of voice
 Good delivery: The ideas expressed fluently in
the right voice, right tone, and right
articulation.
 It isn’t sufficient to have ideas. They have to be
expressed effectively.

17. Apt Language
o Fluency and accuracy in use of language free
from grammatical errors.
o Directly, clearly and precisely put ideas in a
organized fashion.
o Simplicity and unambigusity
o Using too much of jargon or high-sounding
words or ambiguous expressions may project
as a show-off and may not endear to group
members.

18. Effective Use of Body Language
Looking attentively at the speaker and nodding
While speaking, ensuring no one is ignored.
Looking at everybody.
Avoiding overt gestures
Avoiding pointing out fingers
Avoiding monotonous posture by shifting slightly
in the chair or placing arm on the back of your
chair
Not showing interest or dislike in the topic.
Even if one does not like the topic he should try to
develop interest and reveal interest and
enthusiasm through appropriate facial expression.

19. Group Behaviour ( Team Spirit)
 group behaviour is reflected in ability to interact
with other members of the group on brief
acquaintance.
 Emotional maturity and balance promotes
good interpersonal relationships. One is
expected to be more people centric and less
ego centric.
 Remaining objective, empathetic, and non-
threatening, and behaving maturely as a good
team player

20. Essence
 Consistency participation
 Keenness in listening and observing
 Time sharing and orderly conduct
 Ability to handle turbulent situations
 Ability to cut excessively exuberant participants
down to size
 Ability to dominate the proceedings without
bullying others
 Avoiding personal comments

21. Leadership Skills
o The success of any team depends to a large extent,
on its leader.
o The candidate who possesses both functional
ability and coordinating ability would emerge as
the leader.
o Functional ability involves knowledge, mental and
physical energy, emotional stability, objectivity,
communication skill, integrity and emotional
intelligence

22. Dos
 Sitting comfortably
 Listening to topic
 Organizing ideas
 Speaking at the earliest
 Identifying supporters/
opponents
 Keeping track of time
 Sharing time fairly
 Maintaining eye
contact
 Taking notes
 Aiming for summary if
needed

23. Don’ts
 Being in a hurry
 Being silent
 Dominating
vocally/physically
 Assuming role of chairman
 Introducing topic
 Taking extreme stance
 Looking at faculty
 Moving excessively
 Throwing all ideas at one shot
 Speaking fast
 Digressing
 Indulging in ill conversation
 Paying attention to bull dozers
 Using slang
 Getting emotional

24. Questions…